07 May 2012

Cycling Terms for fans

Riders: In professional cycling the racers are generally called riders as opposed to racers or cyclists.

Route map: The course or path the riders will take from start to finish. Some stages will have laps where riders will repeat the same few blocks within the stage. Stage 8 has 5 laps before the finish.

Stage profile:
Maps the ascents and descents along a stage. It is often fun for fans
to see the riders on a climb where the rider's speed slows slightly (or coming
around a corner).

Rolling neutral start:
Riders begin at a start line but do not begin racing until a few blocks
or miles into the route (the distance varies). A neutral start is used
if the start area conditions are narrow, crowded, or unsafe for race
conditions. A neutral start is also sometimes used as a show of respect.
Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 all have neutral starts this year.

KOM (King of Mountain):
First rider to the top of a designated climb on the race route. Riders
receive points, the rider with the most points wins the King of the
Mountain (KOM) (climber's) jersey. The jersey transfers each day to the
rider with the most points overall. There may be more than one KOM point in a stage, Stage 4 has 6 KOMs.

Sprint: First rider to a designated sprint line on the race route. Riders receive points, the rider with the most points wins the sprint (green) jersey. The jersey transfers each day to the rider with the most points overall. There may be more than one KOM point in a stage, Stage 2 has 3 SPRINTS.

Leader:
There will be a current leader out on course while the race is taking
place, but the overall Leader (yellow jersey) is the rider with the
lowest (fastest) overall time for all stages. The winner of each day's stage is called the Stage Winner, not the Leader.

Feed zone:
A designated area on the route where team staff must pass out food bags
(musettes) to the riders containing food. Water may be handed to riders
through team cars throughout the stage.

Breakaway: 1 to a few riders who are leading the race and ahead of the main peloton

Peloton: The main pack of riders chasing the lead breakaway.

Podium girls: A tradition in professional cycling to have 2 beautiful women present the awards to the riders at the finish of every stage.

Podium:
Each day the top three riders finishing the stage are awarded 1st, 2nd,
3rd prizes on the podium. Then the 6 overall Classification jerseys are
awarded.

Classification Jerseys:
Awards for best type of rider in a field. This year the Tour of
California will feature 6 classifications: Leader (fastest overall time,
yellow jersey), Most Courageous (by vote, white jersey), Mountain
(climber, red polka dot jersey), Sprint (fastest sprinter, green
jersey), Best Young rider (under the age of 23, orange jersey), Most
Aggressive (most combative/competitive, black jersey). As the stage race
progresses the overall classification winner is presented with his
jersey after each stage and will wear the jersey at the start of the
next day's stage. View the Official 2012 Jerseys.

Stage Race:
a cycling race consisting of more than one day of racing, where points
and time is tallied every day to determine an overall winner at the end
of the race. The 2012 Amgen Tour of California will have 8 stages.

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Inspiring cyclists and travelers Pedal Dancer is a bike travel blog for travelers, cyclists and cycling fans. Covering Colorado, France, Tour de France, Spring Classics in Belgium, Cycling Events and more. A resource light on opinion and heavy on information and joy of the sport.